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Artistic Performance and other Key Skills

This course offers opportunities to support all key skills, but some are particularly significant. The examples below identify some of the elements that are related to learning activities in artistic performance. Teachers can also build many of the other elements of particular key skills into their classroom planning.

Key Skill

Key skill element

Student learning activity

Being Creative

Imagining

Implementing ideas and taking action

Students learn to respond imaginatively to stimuli drawn from arts sources. They express feelings, thoughts and ideas through the chosen arts medium, taking risks and learning from mistakes.

Students engage in debate, discussion and brainstorming. They consider options and alternatives, trying out and evaluating different approaches. They see the process through to completion.

Being literate

Developing my spoken language

Writing for different purposes

Students develop their oral literacy skills as they are given frequent opportunities to discuss and explain what they are doing. This short course may also provide opportunities for the teacher to actively coach students in the skills of public speaking, such as use of intonation, voice projection and diction.

Students develop their writing skills through the many opportunities for creative self-expression as well as through the preparation of functional documents associated with the project (such as writing promotional materials, catalogues, posters and captions).

Being numerate

Estimating, predicting and calculating

When involved in the design process, students develop the skills of measurement, scale and squaring up for a stage set, exhibition space, wall hanging, mural, sculpture or model-making. They need to calculate the amount of material–fabric, wood, metal, clay–required or quantities for catering, programme production, paper and printing.

Communicating

Listening and expressing myself.

Performing and presenting

Students communicate using different styles appropriate to the occasion. They learn to use suitable body language and expression.

Students express emotions and key messages through their role in the presentation. They make decisions about how best to communicate with their audience using a variety of styles and media.

Managing information and thinking

Thinking creatively and critically

Using technology to access, manage and share knowledge

Students learn to question their own and others’ ideas and assumptions and to adjust thinking in light of new information.

Students use technology and digital media as research tools to gather information, communicate and/or as a means of creative expression.

Managing myself

Knowing myself

Being able to reflect on my own learning

Making considered decisions

Students learn to identify and reflect on personal strengths and weaknesses, to seek help and to be open to feedback and criticism in a way that facilitates revision and improvement.

Students learn the importance of thinking through their decisions and how their actions might affect others and the collective process

Staying Well

Being positive about learning

Being confident

In this short course students find enjoyment and fun in learning. They learn how to stick with a project, celebrating their achievement at the end.

Students develop confidence as they contribute to decision-making within the group, standing apart from the crowd when needed. They use teacher, peer and self-evaluation to improve. They develop resilience in the face of difficulties and sense of satisfaction in the achievement of goals.

Working with others

Developing good working relationships and resolving conflict

Co-operating

Students spend time actively listening to each other and sharing ideas honestly and sensitively. They learn to respect the views of others and thus prevent and manage conflict.

Students set collective goals, work hard and compromise to achieve them, showing appreciation for the contribution of others to the development of group performances.